


Edelweiss

by eyelash_curler



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adult Language, Draco Malfoy Redemption, F/M, Flashbacks, M/M, Narcissa Black Malfoy Bashing, Non-Linear Narrative, Read In Between The Lines, Sorry Not Sorry About The Cliffhangers, There Are Hidden Clues In Every Chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29667462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyelash_curler/pseuds/eyelash_curler
Summary: “Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me. Small and white, clean and bright. You look happy to meet me. Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever. Edelweiss, edelweiss, blessed my homeland forever.”The last enemy that shall be destroyed is deathDeath is a part of life, and should be treated as such(Read Chapter 1 For The Blurb)
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy/Original Character(s), Lucius Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Remus Lupin/Original Character(s), Remus Lupin/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4





	1. The Dream

“Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me. Small and white, clean and bright. You look happy to meet me. Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever. Edelweiss, edelweiss, blessed my homeland forever.” The fond memory of the young woman’s voice had infiltrated Harry’s dreams of late. Every night his dormitory faded away as he slipped farther into dreamland and the walls of his old nursery. The woman had dark brown hair with the sides pulled behind her with multiple intricate plaits, the rest of her hair was curled into perfect ringlets . There was a singular edelweiss flower in her hair. Each time when she finished the song she would take the flower out of her hair and tuck it into Harry’s. She wore a light green silk gown that made her look ethereal. Her lips were a rosy red and her cheeks and nose were tinted a similar shade from the cold. Every night she would tuck him into his crib and then he would wake up. The dream was something he had no recollection of before these past few nights, but Harry knew it was real. He must’ve blocked it from his memory somehow. Ron’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Blimey Harry! It’s almost 9:15! Snape is going to kill us if we’re late for Defense Against the Dark Arts! You- you good? You look like you’re in deep thought.”

“Yeah Ron I’m fine."


	2. Horace

Harry couldn’t stop thinking about the woman from his dreams. Harry was sure he had met her before, but he didn’t know where. Was she a friend of his mother’s? Or maybe one of his father’s? She had to be if she were to be in his old nursery singing him to sleep.

“Hey Hermione?” Harry asked.

“What is it Harry?”

“I had a dream.”

“You should talk to Dumbledore,” She said, finally looking up from her book. “If it’s about You Know Who he could help.”

“No Hermione, no, it’s- it’s about a girl.” Hermione looked intrigued as Harry struggled to find the right words. “Every night it’s the same dream. I fall asleep and I see her face above mine, we’re in my old nursery from when before Voldemort killed my parents. She sings me… a song. And she tucks a flower in my hair and then I wake up.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“That’s the problem. I know that I’ve met her, but I can’t figure out where. I think it’s a memory.”

~ ~ ~

“Alright class, our time is almost over but before you go I just want to say that you all have a test this Friday at 9:15. Since that class is only an hour it’ll be written instead of practical. Class dismissed.” Professor Slughorn finished as students began to pile out of his classroom. As soon as Harry had thrown his bag over his shoulder the Professor called him back. When Harry went over to talk to Slughorn he told him “Oh just a minute Harry.” Harry took the time to soak in his surroundings. The once damp and dim potions classroom had changed over the summer. There were windows where there weren’t any before. The sunlight shone through them beautifully. The ingredient jars were clear for the first time since Harry had seen them. Professor Slughorn’s desk was cluttered with papers, inkwells, and books. There was a large, obscure looking magnifying glass placed upon it. Harry couldn’t recall a time where the Potions classroom felt as welcoming as it did now.

“Professor?” Harry questioned.

“Yes, what is it?” Slughorn said, still crouched over his desk.

“What is it you wanted to ask me sir?”

“Oh right! Harry you’re available to come to the next Slug Club dinner we’re having right?”

“Oh yeah, sure Professor. When is it again?”

“Why it’s this Saturday of course!” Said Slughorn, finally standing up to face Harry.

“Thank you Professor.” Harry said as he turned to exit the classroom. Just as Harry had exited the room he remembered what Hermione had said about him talking to Dumbledore.

“Professor? Sorry, again, but I have a question.” Harry said. Slughorn motioned for Harry to continue.

“I- I’ve been having these dreams. It’s the same. Every night. And I think it’s a memory I’ve somehow… blocked.” Said Harry, fidgeting with his hands. Professor Slughorn frowned,

“I do believe there is a potion that could help with that. But since we have the test this week I won’t have time to,” He paused, almost as if he was thinking about what to say next. “Do it justice. If you’d like I can start it next week Harry.”

“That would be great Professor thank you.”

~ ~ ~

Horace watched as the boy left his classroom. The afternoon sun shone through the windows he had charmed into the dungeons. Walking into his office he looked at his menagerie of favorites. Pictures of his former students. Stopping to look at Gewnnog Jones's photo he noticed that the Evans sisters’ had gotten a bit of dust on them. Picking up the photo to wipe the dust off with his sleeve he started to reminisce about the past. The sisters were both wearing their Hogwarts robes, one clad in yellow and the other red. The older sister of the two had bright red hair, green eyes, and a welcoming smile. The younger sister, only younger by two years, was ethereal. She had dark brown hair and rosy lips. The yellow clad sister had always been the nicer of the two. Both sisters wore a badge upon their robes, one read “Head Girl” while the other simply said “Prefect”. Lily Evans and— a sharp knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.


	3. Candles and Oil Lamps

Gryffindor Tower was not the place to be right now. The once joyful atmosphere had been replaced by the sticky aura of a last minute study session. Slughorn’s test was only a few hours away, for the boys had been studying all night. The candles they had lit were merely stubs now and Harry could see the first rays of morning shine through his window. Harry looked back to the book of ingredients where he saw an ink print of a flower similar in size to a pasque flower but looked as if snow itself had blossomed. Harry became instantly fixated on the flower. 

“Aye. Mate.” Ron said, pulling him out of his trance. Harry looked up, all but one of the boys were sat on the edge of their beds, just as Harry was. “I think you need to go to bed.”

“You’ve started to eat your wand Harry.” Seamus chimed in. Harry looked down and did indeed have the tip of his wand in his mouth.

“Hey uh Neville?” Harry asked.

“Yeah Harry?” Neville replied, looking up from his textbook.

“What plant is this?” Harry turned his book around and handed it to Neville.

“Oh that’s Edelweiss. It’s a muggle flower I think. Grows in the Alps. Does that help?”

“Yeah it does thanks Neville”

“No problem—” Neville was interrupted by Dean returning to the dorm. He waved his wand and all of the candles blew out simultaneously.

“What was that for? I’m trying to study here!” Ron exclaimed.

“Professor McGonagall’s coming.” Dean said frantically, trying to keep his voice down.

“Bloody hell.”

~ ~ ~

“Go over it with me again Harry.” Hermione said, pacing around their spot in the library. The oil lamp the three of them had placed was almost burnt out now.

“Come on ‘Mione, we were up all last night studying for Slughorn’s test and now you’re having us lose even more sleep researching some dream Harry had. It’s not even about You-Know-Who.” Said Ron exasperated, leaning back on his chair and away from the large book laid out in front of him.

“Just because it didn’t have him in the dream doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a clue to defeating him.”

Ron seemed to understand now. He leaned back towards the book of student records and started looking through them with a newfound passion.

“I’m going to start speaking now so are you guys done?” Harry said, slightly annoyed with the two.

“Go ahead Harry.” Hermione replied.

“Every night the same thing happens,” Harry rested his forehead on the book in front of him. “She sings me to sleep, that song from The Sound of Music, and just before my eyes close she tucks an Edelweiss flower in my hair and kisses my forehead.” Ron snickered and Harry glared at him.

“Well what does she look like?” Hermione asked.

“She has— she has long brown hair that’s pulled behind her head in some fancy updo. And most of her hair is curled behind her in perfect ringlets.” Harry said, motioning his finger in a spiral to represent the curls. “She has rosy cheeks and a red nose like she just got in from a snow storm.”

“What was she wearing?” Ron asked, leaning closer to Harry.

“She’s wearing like an old-timey ball gown made of light green silk. It had the hoop skirt and everything. She even looked like she was wearing a corset or something. There was this cloak that she was wearing, the hood was down, but it was clear she wasn’t planning on staying at my parent’s house for long because she hadn’t bothered to take it off. It was a slightly darker shade of green than her dress, one that matched the gloves she was wearing. The trim on the cloak was a dark green with gold embroidery on the edges. I don’t know who she was but she was super rich.”

“But Harry, your parents were rich.” Hermione interjected.

“Yeah, but she looked richer than them even.” Harry shook his hands as he said this.

“She did have hand embroidered trim on her cloak Hermione. That’s not exactly common.” Ron looked at Harry. “You said it was gold?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you find something Ronald?” Hermione said urgently. She ran over and put her hands on the oversized book in front of Ron.

“Yeah— and if you would take your hands off the book I could show you.”

They were bickering again. Harry cleared his throat in an attempt to get them to stop. The two looked annoyed at Harry for doing so, but didn’t say anything. “It’s a yearbook from 1979. There’s a girl here who fits your description Harry, minus the clothes.” Ron said as he handed the book to Harry.

“This is definitely her.” The woman in the photo was smiling up at Harry, she looked only a few years younger than she had in Harry’s dream. She still had her pale skin and her rosy cheeks. Only this time her wavy brown hair was laying loose against her shoulders. It reached down to her waist. One half of her hair was brought to the front of her, while the other rested upon her back. She was facing the corner of the photo, the shoulder with the Prefect badge laid upon it turned closer to Harry. He wasn’t surprised to see that the crest on her robes held a badger. It made perfect sense actually, with the warm aura she exuded in his dream. Looking down at the name listed under the picture Harry noticed it had been scribbled out and “Bitch” was written next to it. She didn’t seem like a bitch to Harry, she seemed kind and tenderhearted from what Harry had seen of her in his dream. The words under it had been kept intact.

“Hufflepuff Prefect. Class of 1979.” Harry read aloud.

“Well then,” Hermione started. “We’ve found out who she is. Now we just need to find out why she was in your old nursery.” Hermione was interrupted by Ron calling her name. She ignored him and continued talking. “And if this has any hidden clues to defeating You-Know-Who.”

“Hermione!” Ron said, “You aren’t listening. We haven’t found out who she is. Look at her name; It’s been scribbled out. Someone really doesn’t want us to find out who she is.”

“Or maybe someone just really didn’t like her.” Harry suggested.


	4. The Boggart in the Wardrobe

Draco Lucius Malfoy hadn’t gotten the chance to see his boggart during class. Not that he wanted to of course. Although he had been gossiping about the state of Professor Lupin’s robes during the lesson, the young boy secretly had wanted to see what form the beast would take. Draco lied awake in his bed, looking out to the window next to him he saw a few fish swim by. _Why does the best house have to have its dormitories under the black lake. _He thought, slightly annoyed. Draco swung his legs over the side of the bed and his feet hit the cold floor. Putting on his robes he made to be extra quiet, for he did not want to wake the other boys in the room. He took his wand out from under his pillow, the boy had nothing to be fearful of yet he slept with his wand under his pillow every night. Curious. “Lumos.”__

__The castle at night was peaceful. The pale moonlight shone through the windows as he walked the halls. The empty classroom he had visited earlier today was growing closer. Draco’s shoes made little sound as he neared the door. Turning the knob the old classroom looked still, Draco could spot a moth resting on the window at the far side of the classroom. Other than a single moth the room was silent. The door clicked shut behind the young Malfoy. Nothing had appeared, he wondered if the boggart was still there. Walking toward where the boggart was he wasn’t surprised to find there was no beast. “Draco…” a voice appeared behind him. There in the light of the moon stood a large wooden bed. The woman in it coughed. “Draco, my love, come here.”_ _

__“Mum.”_ _

__Draco walked towards the illusion of his mother. She held out a weak hand for him to take. He knew somewhere in his mind that this wasn’t real, but seeing her again made him feel like everything was going to be okay. He knew what would happen if he didn’t leave, but against better judgement he took her hand. I wonder how many other students' boggarts are memories? He thought. There were only a small few students his age who had experienced their worst fears._ _

__Her breathing was heavy and her coughing had gotten worse in the time he stood there. Draco had no idea how long it had been since he entered the empty classroom. “Draco,” She said. He looked up from their joined hands and met her eyes. It was as if he was looking into his own. Both sets of eyes were a deep chocolate brown. His mother had long brown hair and soft rosy cheeks. Draco thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Draco looked almost identical to a young version of his father, except for one thing. He had his mother’s eyes. “If you cannot be anything else, be kind.”_ _

__And with that she closed her eyes and went into eternal sleep. The boy felt her hand go inhumanly cold once more. He took the snow blossom from her hair and held it tight in his hands and cried. As much as he wanted to keep the blossom, it disappeared when he heard a man's voice in the corner of the room._ _

__“Riddikulus.” The boggart was pulled into a chest the man in the corner had set on the floor. Locking the chest he said, “You know, I had gone away to get this chest to keep the boggart in so it could be transported off of school grounds.” Draco looked up to see his Professor walking towards him. Professor Lupin stopped a few feet away from the young boy. “Mr. Malfoy— I’m sorry for your loss.”_ _

__“I don’t need your pity.”_ _

__“It’s not pity, it’s empathy. I knew your mother Draco. Despite being two years younger than me, she was my best friend.” Draco didn’t say anything. He knew Professor Lupin was friends with his mother, but those days where he would have grown up with an Uncle Moony were far behind him._ _

__Professor Lupin waved his wand and the chest disappeared, presumably somewhere else in the castle. “Why don’t I walk you back to your common room Draco.” He leaned down and put his hand on Draco’s shoulder. “You don’t have to go back to bed but at least stay in your common room. I can’t have you wandering the corridors at night.”_ _

__~ ~ ~_ _

__In the time it took Remus to walk Draco back to the Slytherin common room, the boggart had gotten out of the chest Remus had trapped it in. Walking into his office he noticed all of the candles had been blown out, the moonlight shining through the windows being the only source of light in the room. He took note of the current moon phase, as he always did. He guessed there was about a little over a week until the next full moon. That meant his first dose of Wolfsbane was closing in. The boggart’s new form stood in the direct light of the moon. A single ray shone upon the headstones it had taken the form of. Remus remembered when his boggart was a pile of dead bodies, all having been mauled by a werewolf. Now it was headstones. The one on the right read as follows;_ _

__James Potter | Lily Potter  
Born 27 March 1960 | Born 30 January 1960  
Died 31 October 1981 | Died 31 October 1981  
_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death _____

____The second headstone, the one on the left, hurt even more to read. The name engraved upon it had been scratched over with a blade. Seemingly done so by someone who wanted to erase the name from existence. From what Remus could make out, the rest of it read;_ _ _ _

_____Born 11 February 1962  
Died 4 October 1985  
_Death is a part of life, and should be treated as such _____ _

______The left headstone had a single word written in blood at the top of the headstone. In childlike handwriting the blood read one word; “Mudblood”_ _ _ _ _ _


	5. The Apple Tree

Whispers filled the teacherless classroom. Professor Slughorn wasn’t usually this late, sometimes he was late by 5 minutes or so, but 15? That was unheard of. The whispers conceded as the sound of heels on stone grew continuously louder. Madame Pomfrey walked through the archway as Professor Slughorn followed behind her. He strayed from her as he went to collect his demonstration of the day’s lesson from his stores.

“I suppose some of you might be wondering why I am attending your class today.” The blonde woman said. Her eyes scanned the classroom. “Your Professor has asked me to stand by for this lesson should any of you go into catatonic shock as a result of what you might uncover. Usually I would argue against the teaching of such a potion but you all are N.E.W.T. students so you should be able to handle yourselves. If not, I’ll be here.”

Hermione leaned closer to Harry as she whispered in his ear. “What do you think the potion is? A potion that could have such a severe result even when brewed correctly is most definitely not on the Hogwarts curriculum.”

“Yeah it isn’t I don’t think.” Harry said, looking over at Hermione, whose face was inches from his. “Slughorn offered to teach it to the class after I told him about my dream. He said it uncovered blocked memories.”

“So it might help you remember that woman’s name.” Ron chimed in.

“Yeah, hopefully it does.”

~ ~ ~

Harry could feel the sweat dripping down his face. It was known amongst the school that the potions classroom had very poor ventilation, and since the windows Professor Slughorn had charmed in were just that. Charmed windows. It’s not like he could open them to provide fresh air to the class.

“Alright everyone!” The Professor clapped his hands to get his students’ attention. “Now that some of you are close to finishing your potions I need you to listen closely. You are not to drink the potion you have brewed until—”

A scream was heard on the other side of the classroom. Harry looked up to see Parkinson with her hands over her mouth. Malfoy had dropped to the ground. Seamus raised hand and looked at Professor Slughorn from the table next to Harry. Slughorn nodded at Seamus, beckoning him to speak.

“What happened? Why’d he faint?” 

Snickers from around the classroom could be heard, most notably from Ron and Hermione who were sitting just beside Harry. Harry seemed to be the only Gryffindor who wasn’t laughing at Malfoy fainting. Instead Harry had questions. Questions that he knew Slughorn wouldn’t answer. Before Slughorn could answer Seamus’s question Harry blurted out his own.

“What did he see? He saw something, that’s what made him go into shock like you said.”

“Very well Mr. Potter! I would award you house points but since you interrupted me I can’t. To answer your question Harry I can’t show you, that would be a violation of Mr. Malfoy’s privacy.”

Hermione, obviously curious, spoke up in favor of showing the vision. “But Professor, didn’t you tell Harry that you were going to show everyone’s at the end of the class? What does it matter now versus then? Most of the class isn’t finished with theirs yet, Malfoy is just good at potions.”

“Did I? I don’t remember that…” Professor Slughorn stopped to think. “Very well, what harm can it do.”

Hermione looked back at Harry and Ron with a devilish smile on her face. “You lied!” Ron whispered. 

“So what if I did? He’s showing the vision.” Ron and Hermione seemed to look at each other and have a moment of mutual understanding, almost like they were communicating telepathically. Slughorn dimmed the lights in the potions room and because Madam Pomfrey wasn’t there to argue against it, he brought the cauldron Malfoy had used to the center of the classroom so that all students could view the vision equally.

The vision started with Narcissa Malfoy walking through the grounds on Malfoy Manor. She was wearing black heels, a black dress with a queen anne neckline, and bright red lipstick. Her hair was done up behind her head in braids. She wore a smug expression upon her face like it was meant to be there. Her wand was drawn in her hand as she walked through the grass. Finally, the vision panned to show what she was walking towards. A large tree stood in the distance, the tree had perfect red apples on it. Harry thought the tree looked eerily familiar, but it couldn’t be. He had never been to Malfoy Manor before.

The Malfoy woman walked closer to the tree, as she got closer it became apparent that there was something etched into the bark. There was a sun drawn into the bark, inside it there were two sets of initials. Both linked through a plus sign between them.

AE + LM

Harry scrambled to pull out a piece of parchment and write down the initials etched into the tree. Quickly Harry turned his attention back to what was being shown in front of him, not wanting to miss a single second. He noticed that Narcissa Malfoy looked notably younger than she did in the newspaper articles about her husband’s arrest. Pointing her wand at the tree it burst into flames. The vision panned back to show her face but you could still see the large fire reflected in her eyes. Continuing to smile at the growing fire she said only two words and a name.

_“I win Anyleyia.” ___


End file.
